


Surprise

by HiddenViolet



Series: 2020 - 12 Days of Writing [8]
Category: Sanctuary (TV)
Genre: Affection, Christmas Party, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Mistletoe, surprise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:00:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28208721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HiddenViolet/pseuds/HiddenViolet
Summary: Will spends a quiet day and then gets a surprise.
Relationships: Henry Foss/Will Zimmerman
Series: 2020 - 12 Days of Writing [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2054838
Kudos: 2





	Surprise

“William, hold on for a moment.”

Will turned to look at Helen. She jogged to catch up to him.

“I have a request to make of you. I want you to remain here during this mission. Kate is going to be taking your place. There is a crucial call I want you to take. They should be calling just a few minutes after we leave.”

“What’s the call, and shouldn’t you be taking it if it’s important?”

“Ah, well, it seems that your handling of the Sanctuary system during the Hollow Earth Crisis has more than endeared you to the other Sanctuary managers. They might be all aware that I am still alive, but it’s you that they want to talk to. Apparently, they find you to be more rational and less likely to just outright ignore what they have to say.”

Will smiled lightly. “Oh? Really? You mean they don’t like it when they make a dumb suggestion, and you pretend like they didn’t even talk? Or when you go off on a tangent about just how dumb that suggestion is?”

“Just take the call and handle whatever their problem is, you little brat. If you finish and we still need help, we’ll call you. Otherwise, you can have some time off to relax. You’ve been working so hard for me; I worry that I’m working you to death.”

“Unlike you, who never works more than 40 hours a week.” Will’s words were distinctly sarcasm tinged.

“You know, I think I prefer the hero worship to your bratty sarcastic self.”

“Yeah, but it’s not nearly as fun.”

Will’s call turned out to be nothing more than concerns about a shipment of incredibly rare abnormals that were arriving in a few days. Each of the sanctuaries was sending their own set. They all wanted to be sure that they would be cared for properly, even in the underground.

Will didn’t begrudge them this fact and took the call with much more grace than Helen likely would’ve. She would’ve seen it as casting aspersions on her ability to care for the abnormals and probably would’ve gotten into a large argument. Helen, for all of her talents and knowledge, didn’t take criticism well. Especially when it was about the organization that she had founded. The Sanctuary she ran on a day to day basis or in managing her people. She often took offense where none was meant. Will could definitely see why they would prefer someone who wouldn’t take it so personally when they called into question the ability to care for the abnormals.

He cheerfully ended the call and checked in on the team. He made sure that they hadn’t called for backup and then checked with Big Guy to make sure there was nothing else that needed to be done. It seemed that the work of running a sanctuary was never over. However, quite unusually for them, it seemed they had gotten everything caught up.

Will partially owed that to the fact that both he and Helen were running their Sanctuary. They split many of the long, tedious duties between them and could do twice the amount of work than one manager could. It was a system that worked so well that Will was tempted to suggest it to the other Sanctuaries. He wasn’t the only one that often found like there was more work than could be accomplished by a single person. However, if he did, and they implemented it, it could cause issues. The governments which were keeping all of the Sanctuaries on a tight leash would question why his rebuilt Sanctuary was being run by a single person instead of a pair. Most people still didn’t know that Helen was actually alive, and they wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible.

With nothing to do, a rarity these days, Will settled himself down with a book he’d been meaning to read. He didn’t have a lot of pleasure time, but Helen’s collection was so exquisite he couldn’t help borrowing and squeezing in some reading time. Even if it was at the expense of his sleep. Will allowed himself to delve deep into the story and block everything out. For several hours he simply read quietly to himself. It was more than enough time to do what was necessary for the others.

Helen was glad that Will had taken to answering the call so quickly. It allowed her to continue with the preparations for their surprise. Big Guy had firm orders to keep Will away from the small meeting room, but it turned out to be unnecessary. He made sure there wasn’t anything else that needed to be done and then settled in his office with a book. There were definitely times where Helen much appreciated Will’s intense introverted nature. An extrovert would’ve sought someone out to have a conversation, and they could not have that. They were pressed for time on this anyway.

Helen checked with Henry to make sure that he was ready to sweep his fiancé off his feet and saw that he was placing strategic areas of mistletoe around. Likely hoping to catch Will under it for a deep, steamy kiss. She left him to it, not wanting to freak him out even more. With the pressure on to make this Christmas the best that Will had ever had, she didn’t want him crumbling.

She fussed over the table settings and started to check on the food. It was only a few more minutes, and everything would be perfect. Will had never had the chance to have a proper Sanctuary Christmas, and Helen would not have it. She was going to make sure that he knew exactly what it meant to be a member of her family.

Once everything was in its place, she gave Henry the signal to go and fetch Will. He gave a nod and hurried out the door. His pace was nervous and filled with energy, and Helen could relate. She wanted this to be a lovely memory for Will.

Henry jogged up to Will’s office, excited about what was happening. The fact that Will hadn’t had a really good Christmas since his mom had died had weighed heavily on all of their minds. They had wanted to change the memory and make it a better one. It had taken a lot of work and some obfuscating, but they had managed to plan a surprise Christmas party.

He knocked lightly on the door and heard Will call for him to come in. Henry was nearly bouncing on his toes. This seemed like the perfect way to start their first real Christmas together. Will looked up when he entered, and a smile that lit up Henry’s world crossed his face.

“Henry! I suppose the mission must’ve gone well. You didn’t call for help, and you’re back early.”

“Yeah, it really did. That’s actually why I’m here. We’ve got something we want you to look at. It’s a little hard to describe, so you should probably just follow me. We’re downstairs in the first-floor meeting room.”

Will smiled and set his book aside. “I’d love to help. It’s to be together for a while without anything crazy happening. It sometimes feels like I never get to spend any time with you.”

“Yeah, having a bit of quiet time is good. Not too much; otherwise, we would be bored. However, a little to get things done that we’ve been neglecting is always good. Here we are. You just have a look.”

Henry opened up the door and led Will into the room. When Henry flicked on the lights, the room lit up with not only the overhead but also the Christmas lights strung around the entire room. Helen, Kate, Tesla, Big Guy, and many other abnormals were all grinning as he entered.

“Merry Christmas, Will. Welcome to your very first, really amazing Christmas. Hopefully, the start of a new tradition for you.”

“Oh, you guys didn’t have to do this.”

Helen approached him and kissed him on the cheek. “You know us. Any excuse to run around and have a party, and we’re all over it. But we seriously wanted to help you make some new holiday memories. We also wanted to make sure that your holidays with Henry were kicked off with something wonderful. Speaking of Henry, do you realize that you are standing under the mistletoe?”

Henry grinned at her and turned to Will. Will looked up and, seeing the plant turned to look suspiciously at Henry. “This all seems perfectly timed and a very neat coincidence. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, do you?”

Henry grinned back unashamedly. “It’s traditional. Besides, when have I ever turned down an excuse to kiss my beautiful fiancé.”

“Aright, come here then. We’ll just have to fulfill this tradition before we get to the rest of the party.”

Henry pulled Will in for a kiss. It started chaste, with just the barest hint of lips on lips. Before long, however, Henry was slipping his tongue deep into Will’s mouth and taking everything he had to offer. Helen looked away awkwardly, but when it hit the one-minute mark, she delicately cleared her throat.

“Alright, boys. That’s enough. You can have more of each other later in private. Right now, it is time to celebrate the holidays and enjoy this quiet time we’ve been having.”

Will and Henry separated, both flushed and panting. They gave similar sighs when they could breathe again and turned back to the party-goers. All of whom were staring at them with sarcastic looks. Will looked away, and Henry chuckled awkwardly.

“Alright, party people, let’s get this going. We are going to make this a holiday to remember for my handsome, gorgeous, beloved fiancé.” Henry slipped an arm around Will and led him towards the food. After all, everybody knew that the start to any good party was a plate full of the good stuff. Everything else could come after you had your turn at the buffet.

The two of them loaded up their plates along with what seemed to be most of the residential sentient abnormals. As soon as everyone had their first plate of food, they began to break up into social groups and get down to the party part of this event.

Will stuck close to Henry. Even with as long as he dealt with the Sanctuaries, he wasn’t super confident in his social skills alone. He preferred to tag along with someone willing to do the majority of the talking. These days that meant his much more extroverted soon to be husband.

Henry carried the conversation but did well to include Will in them. As much as possible, considering how shy Will was around most people. Apparently, he was better one on one with his patients—times when all he had to focus on was a single person and what they needed.

Henry genuinely thought it was absolutely adorable. Will being shy was one of his favorite things in the world, and he wouldn’t change it for anything. However, eventually, the party began to take its toll. Thankfully that seemed to be around the time that it was winding down. Henry and Will made their excuses, said their goodbyes, and headed back to their rooms for some sleep. After getting ready for bed and sliding in together, Henry asked the question that had been weighing on him for a while.

“So, how did you like the party? I know that social gatherings aren’t really your thing. However, I thought that a small one with your friends might be a nice way to start new holiday memories.”

Will turned to him and smiled a teasing smile. “Well, the best part was definitely the beginning. Where my handsome fiancé frenched me in front of the entire Sanctuary. However, the party was lovely, and it was a wonderful way to celebrate. It genuinely was a brilliant evening.”

Henry grinned at him. “That’s really good. That’s what we wanted for you to have. Now, however, I think it’s time for us to finish what we started.”


End file.
